The invention relates to a bending center comprising a bending unit and a loading device with a feed table for receiving a sheet-metal part to be inserted, a manipulator arrangement, with which the sheet-metal part can be gripped on the feed table and moved in a first direction as well as a second direction extending transversely to the first direction as well as rotated about an axis of rotation at right angles to a plane defined by the first and second directions.
Bending centers of this type are known from the state of the art. The problem with these is that a sheet-metal part supplied to them has, first of all, to be positioned exactly, for example by stop means, and only after exact positioning of the sheet-metal part can any handling thereof take place by means of the manipulator arrangement in order to then bring the sheet-metal part into an exact insertion position of the bending unit, proceeding from an exact starting position.
Reaching such an exact insertion position is, on the one hand, time-consuming and leads, particularly with an automated supply, on the one hand to a considerable time requirement for the positioning and, on the other hand, to errors in positioning possibly occurring which later result in rejected or damaged parts.